


Nineteen Years Doesn't Change Much

by pep_and_pretentiousness



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Ravenclaw-Centred, Scorpius Malfoy & Albus Severus Potter Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:00:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23568727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pep_and_pretentiousness/pseuds/pep_and_pretentiousness
Summary: Harry Potter was sure that his years at Hogwarts would be completely unrivalled as the most eventful.Somehow, he was wrong.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. How to Get a Compartment

There were no more compartments.

Scorpius had _told_ his parents that he needed to go over and over, but his father was insistent on a ten-minute lecture and his mother wouldn’t stop kissing and hugging him. He didn’t mind the attention as much as some other kids would, but he’d have gladly just given them each a wave if it meant he didn’t have to stand in the corridor like a pathetic twat.

 _This can’t be happening,_ he thought miserably, and began to trail back the same way he came. _This actually can’t be happening._ Anyone else probably would have been able to handle not getting their own space, but he wasn’t anyone else. He was the boy the press liked to call Voldemort’s son, although he was the spitting image of his father. Not that the resemblance helped, his father wasn't exactly the most revered man in England either. Scorpius had still hoped to avoid being called a Death Eater or getting thrown out a window but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen at this point.

He continued to walk, however, trying not to give up, looking through door after door after door to no avail. Every so often, he’d catch someone’s eyes through the glass and his cheeks would burn with embarrassment, so that by the time he was back to the front of the train his red face was a stark contrast from his fair hair. Not one of the compartments were empty.

 _Well, maybe Megan and Greg are in one together,_ he thought. He hadn’t seen the two of them in a couple of years, but he _knew_ them. They wouldn’t throw him out even if it would be awkward. Normally, Scorpius didn’t like to be in uncomfortable situations, but he didn’t think he had any other choice. With a bit more resolve, he turned around, but one of his shoelaces got stuck under the other shoe and he was sent crashing into the door on his right.

First came a very loud, very painful thump, and then he fell to the floor. “Ow.” he groaned, although no one was listening. "Ow." His head throbbed as he clutched it, and when he tried to sit up he was dizzy enough that he simply flopped back down. “Ow.”

He heard some muffled speaking, the sound of a door sliding open, and then there were two blurry faces looking down at him.

“Are you alright?” asked a voice that seemed to be coming from the face with frizzy red hair. It was energetic and high-pitched and somewhat alarmed. “That was a really loud bang.” Scorpius squinted to try and get a better view of the girl—was it a girl? His vision cleared slightly to see her, thin and freckled, with a dark-haired boy next to her. Her large blue eyes were widened in concern and her companion was extending an arm.

“Thanks.” Scorpius strained to say, grabbing hold and pulling himself up. Once he was standing, he gave the boy a grateful smile.

“Cheers,” he replied, grinning back. Then he blanched. “You’re bleeding.”

 _“What?”_ Scorpius shrieked, and he stared down at his hands, one of which to his horror was stained with blood. His head. _Shit shit shit shit shit._ He glanced back up at the boy and girl, who were both as taken aback as he was. “Oh—oh Merlin, oh no, oh no.” His breath was quickening and he felt lightheaded. He was going to die before he even reached Hogwarts.

“No, it’s okay, it’s okay.” said the girl frantically, and she took his clean hand and tugged him into their compartment. “Sit down, it’ll help you.” Scorpius did as she said, too shocked to protest, as she paced back and forth. “Albus, do you remember what the healing spell is?” she asked without looking at her friend. Albus. Wait. Scorpius turned but everything was getting blurry again.

“Rose, do you really—” Albus started, but he was cut off.

“Oh, I know, it’s _Episkey.”_ said Rose. Albus. Rose. Wait. Wait. It couldn’t possibly be _that_ Albus and _that_ Rose. If Scorpius had been more calm he would have focused on that, but he was panicked enough to ignore it. “I’m going to try this spell on you, alright? I think it should turn out fine.” Scorpius opened his mouth to ask how sure she was but thought better of it. __“_ Episkey!”_

A blue light emitted from her wand. Scorpius expected more of a fanfare, but his head just went hot, then cold, and then he felt the cut close. _Thank goodness._ He tentatively patted his head, feeling no pain, and his hand came back red and wet. The wound was gone but not the blood. “Merlin’s beard, can’t anything go right?” he exclaimed, scowling angrily before he remembered that he wasn’t alone. “Sorry, I forgot to thank you.” he apologised. “I just—”

“Have blood in your hair?” interjected Albus, though he sounded amused. “I think I know the cleaning spell, actually—”

“Oh don’t worry, I know.” Scorpius hastened to say, not wanting to further indebt himself. “I’d feel stupid if you two were doing it all.” He pulled out his wand clumsily and pointed it in the general direction of the blood, imagining a great ugly splotch of scarlet in his pale blonde hair. _“Scourgify!”_ Years of watching his parents and a good month of reading spellbooks had taught him the motions he was supposed to perform, and he was satisfied when ten seconds later his head felt clean and dry. _That was an ordeal._

“Well, that was an ordeal.” Rose remarked, and Scorpius laughed out loud. She looked surprised, but began to join him, till all three of them were giggling. It lasted until Scorpius properly realised who he was laughing with and stopped.

“Thank you again, both of you.” he said, meaning it. He knew who they were and he knew that they weren’t going to be mates but he liked them. All of the compartments were of course the same but this one felt warmer and brighter and Scorpius felt a little sorry to leave. “I ought to go now, I—”

“No, stay!” said Rose. “You should sit for a bit just to rest your head, _Episkey_ doesn’t heal dizziness. Unless, you know, you have to get back to your friends.” His friends. And _then_ he properly realised that he had nowhere to go.

“I don’t have a compartment, actually.” he admitted, knowing that he would appear (rather truthfully) like he had no friends. “I couldn’t find one, they were all full.”

“Oh, you can just sit here.” said Albus, though his mouth was full. Somehow within the few seconds that Rose had been talking he had taken out a Cauldron Cake and was contentedly munching. “We don’t mind, do we Rosie?” His cousin nodded in agreement, but that agreement would likely dissipate in the space of a few seconds. “What’s your name?”

And now he was going to be thrown out the window. _Well, it was a good try._ “Scorpius Malfoy.” he ground out. He gritted his teeth and focused on the platform outside. Rose’s mouth dropped open and then she was still.

"Oh." she breathed.

Albus stopped chewing. "Oh." he said quietly.

"Yeah." The three of them were silent for a full minute, which to Scorpius felt like an hour. “Yeah, I should probably go.” he mumbled nervously, and stood up. It was disheartening, to say the least, but he wanted to leave before they asked him to because that would have been even worse.

“No, stay.” said Rose before he reached the door. She looked uncomfortable, but not enough for him not to listen. “We’re not—it wouldn’t—you haven’t done anything wrong and it’s not really fair to make you go just cause you said your name.” Her face softened slightly and she tried to smile. She was actually trying to smile

Albus bobbed his head up and down. “We won’t be rude till you’re rude.” He continued to eat without another word, and Rose shoved him good-naturedly. Scorpius was struck extremely hard by how lucky he was. He thought they would have thrown hexes at his back and cackle while he trudged away, before following him, stealing all of his sweets and his clothes, and then becoming his enemies forever. “Wait, do you know who _we_ are?”

“Albus Potter and Rose Granger-Weasley.” he said without asking.There was absolutely no possibility of him being wrong, and they nodded. “No, I figured it out as soon as you said each other’s names. There aren’t that many Roses and Albuses. Well, maybe more Roses but not with an Albus, that is. Sorry, I’m rambling.”

“Oh, she’s the queen of rambling.” Albus said mischievously and pointed to Rose, who frowned and smacked his arm. “Ow, geroff!”

“I’ll do that as soon as you stop being the king of pissing other people off.” She turned her gaze to Scorpius and this time she really did smile. “You can sit down, Scorpius.”

So he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I guess I decided to make a next gen fic :)
> 
> Obviously this isn't Cursed Child compliant and it centres around Rose, Albus, and Scorpius. Eventual Scorose as a warning to any Scorbus shippers and this will include adventure, a villain etc. I hope everyone enjoys!


	2. Blue and Bronze

From everything he had grown up learning, Albus was inclined to think that sitting with a Malfoy on the train ride would be a lot more awful than it actually was. Malfoys weren’t supposed to be nervous and considerate, they were supposed to be snooty and evil. Scorpius had done nothing but make light conversation and grin bashfully since he had been with them, and he hadn’t said a word about blood traitors or Mudbloods either. It was unnerving.

“Chocolate Frog?” Albus offered, and it was taken with a murmured “thanks”. He was so _polite_ as well _._ Rose probably would have said Albus just thought that because he had no manners, but if she had grown up with James and Lily she wouldn’t be half as ladylike. “You’re quite welcome, Scorp.”

For the first time, the other boy looked disapproving. “Under no circumstances—” he began, but Albus was already smirking.

“Will I call you anything other than Scorp? Agreed.” Scorpius shook his head as he bit into the frog, but he smiled.

The three of them spoke naturally to each other, unreservedly, and considering who their families were there was a startling lack of tension. Scorpius loved Quidditch (Chasing, like Rose), he was very good at Exploding Snap and he liked Fizzing Whizzbees more than any other sweet. He was excited but terrified about Hogwarts because of his surname and some rumours he didn’t elaborate on and he had been diligently reading all of the spellbooks, the same ones Albus had barely looked at. He wasn’t arrogant and he listened to then when they talked, and by the time they got onto the subject of houses, Albus had decided he liked him enough not to mind where he wanted to go.

“Where do you want to be Sorted?” asked Rose at last. “I want to be in Gryffindor, or _maybe_ Ravenclaw. Albus wants to be…” She trailed off. _Anywhere but Slytherin,_ she was going to say.

“Gryffindor, yeah.” Albus finished quickly, hoping the falter had escaped Scorpius’ attention. “Sorry, go on.”

“Er, probably Slytherin cause, well, you know.” Scorpius said, running a hand through his blonde hair. Rose and Albus nodded knowingly. Tradition was tradition, and no matter who your family was there was pressure on you to follow it. “I wouldn’t mind Ravenclaw either.”

“Oh!” said Rose, who brightened visibly. “Perhaps we could be in the same house!” They grinned at each other.

 _“Perhaps we could be in the same house.”_ Albus mocked, and his cousin thumped him on the head. “Bloody hell, it’s not my fault you’re such a priss. Honestly, Scorp, you may like her now but you _will_ get tired of her.”

“Just like how I’ll get tired of you calling me Scorp?” retorted Scorpius in amusement. Albus beamed at him.

“How could you ever get tired of me calling you Scorp?” he snickered, and just as he started to say something else the door opened. A tall girl with an aggressively straight fringe and brown eyes magnified by her massive glasses trotted in, already dressed in her Hogwarts robes.

“Hello.” she announced to the compartment. “Do any of you know the spell to fix Jackie’s robes?” There was a moment’s pause, in which she seemed to realised she was alone, and then she darted out and dragged in a small girl with blonde-streaked hair. The bottom of that girl’s robes were split in several places, enough to make it look like a misguided fashion choice.

“Merlin, what did you do?” asked Rose incredulously, and Jackie’s face coloured.

“We got in a fight.” her friend said matter-of-factly, and tapped her left cheek, which was slightly red and swollen.

“No, _you_ got in a fight!” Jackie snapped. “With _third-years._ I told you not to swear at them and you did, and now my robes are ruined!”

“They’re not ruined, not if they can fix them!” The other girl paused. _“Can_ you fix them?” She seemed to be properly appraising the three of them for the first time, and her face grew doubtful. “You know what, never mind, we’ll—”

“No, I know it!” Albus interrupted, a little affronted at her bluntness. “It’s _Reparo,_ isn’t it?” He glanced at Rose for confirmation and she nodded uncertainly.

“If you’re asking her, maybe she should do it.” No, she wasn’t blunt, just rude.

“I can do it.” he insisted through gritted teeth. “Come on, I’ve got to see them.” Jackie stepped forward, and Albus whistled at the amount of slices in the robes. Scrunching his face in concentration, he knelt down and prodded it with his wand. _“Reparo.”_ Almost immediately, two of the slits were mended. _“Reparo.”_ Another three. _“Reparo.”_ He continued the spell, over and over, every so often peeking up to look at the girl defiantly until the fabric looked good as new.

“Oh!” Jackie exclaimed happily, and he couldn’t help smiling back.

“Hmm.” said the girl, peering down at the robes. “You actually did it.” She sounded as if she’d expected him to fail. Albus was finding her less and less agreeable every time she spoke.

“It was nice to meet you.” he said coldly. “We wouldn’t want to keep you here too long.” He narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but she wasn’t even looking at him anymore.

“Thank you.” said Jackie with a warm smile. “It was nice to meet you too.” She just about skipped out, her spirits raised. Her friend began to follow her, and then abruptly stopped. _What now,_ Albus thought irritably.

“I’m Imogen, by the way.” Imogen adjusted her glasses and finally, _finally_ left. Albus barely waited till the door was closed to let out a dramatic sigh.

“If I never speak to that girl again, I’ll live a long, happy life.” Rose looked at him reproachfully.

“She wasn’t that bad, Al, just a little upfront.”

“Upfront? _Upfront?_ She literally insulted me to my face.”

“You mean she didn’t automatically praise you and inflate your gigantic ego?”

“She—”

“Yes, she wasn’t incredibly pleasant,” Scorpius mediated. “But I don’t think she was trying to upset you.”

“Fine.” Albus conceded, and snatched a Pumpkin Pasty from their pile on the table with a bit more effort than he needed. “All right, let’s have another game of Exploding Snap, you won’t beat me again.”

They played several games, all of which he lost, and then they traded Chocolate Frog cards, giggled over jokes, and ate an outrageous amount of sweets, while the sky darkened. By the time they had reached their destination Albus was almost tired of Cauldron Cakes.

“The train’s slowing down.” said Scorpius eventually, as he yawned and looked outside.

“Come on,” Rose urged them, “I don’t want to be last, let’s go.” Albus and Scorpius stood up with her, and the three of them left their trunks and owls to go join an already large crowd of people in the corridor.

“Firs’-years this way! Firs’-years!” called a familiar voice once they were outside. Rose and Albus looked up (quite a bit up) to see Hagrid, who they had known since they were little. “All right, Rose, Albus?” He smiled down at the two of them and they waved back excitedly. Then he saw Scorpius beside them, and the glower he gave him was less than welcoming.

“Sorry, he’s just…” Albus started, trying to apologise, but his voice was lost under all the chatter. Scorpius gave him a strained half-smile in return.

“It’s fine.” he replied, though he looked a little more small and pale than he had been before. It was all forgotten anyway once they reached the lake.

Hogwarts was even more grand and beautiful than Albus had imagined, and everyone gasped upon seeing it. Every turret and tower window glimmered, and it all appeared enormous and cosy at once. _This_ was where he’d be spending the next seven years of his life.

“Into the boats now! No more’n four to each!” shouted Hagrid, and one by one they filed into the little rowboats at the lake. Albus, Rose and Scorpius all clambered into one together, and they were followed, to Albus’ infuriation, by Imogen.

“Oh, hello again.” she said, and he immediately focused on the oars rowing themselves even though he felt Rose’s glare burning the back of his head.

Once they were inside the castle, the Transfiguration teacher—Professor Howes—droned to them about the Sorting Ceremony and the houses and how _important_ it all was. As if they didn’t know. Albus scoffed internally at the thought while Howes nattered on, and as soon as he left to prepare everyone erupted into frightened hisses. All of the Muggle-borns were in hysterics about some test they were going to have to take, and the others were too busy worrying about houses to mollify them. Not a soul was completely calm or collected.

Albus glanced at his friends. Rose had tensed herself enough to look like a mannequin, and Scorpius had gone totally white now. When Albus caught his eye he gave him a reassuring half-smile, full of a confidence he didn’t feel. Whatever house he was placed in, that was going to determine practically everything about his time at Hogwarts.

“The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin.” said Howes, scrutinizing the first-years disdainfully. Albus had mostly been ignoring him but now he noticed his haughty expression, which didn’t make him anymore endearing. “Form a line and follow me.” They all scurried behind him while he strode forward, spelling open the doors to the Great Hall. It was full, full, _full_ of people, who ogled the first years like they were animals in a zoo. It wasn’t exactly helping anyone’s fear. Albus tried to put them out of his mind, instead gazing at the floating candles that illuminated the place. When his eyes travelled up, he saw the celing bewitched to look like the clear, starry night sky they had seen before.

Howes, sighing insufferably, put down a stool and placed the Sorting Hat on top. Everyone stopped talking, and it was so quiet you could have heard a feather fall. The hat opened its mouth.

_Oh I’m the Sorting Hat you see_

_Whatever else that I shall be_

_I’ll place each of you in your house_

_So step on up don’t be a mouse!_

_Hufflepuff, loyal and fair and true_

_Without them, oh what could we do_

_If there’s hard work that must be done_

_They’re not afraid, they’ll make it fun_

_Slytherins are mighty sly_

_And help us all, do you ask why?_

_They dream of bigger, better, great_

_They’re shrewd enough to bargain fate_

_Gryffindors do not lack nerve_

_They’re brave and never scared to serve_

_Chivalrous to all they see_

_More daring than you’ll ever be_

_Ravenclaws value a mind_

_They long for knowledge they can find_

_What open-minded folk they are_

_With wisdom as a guiding star_

_Each house has its flaws and a strength_

_Don’t judge by height or size or length_

_You’ll find a way power through_

_The Sorting begins now, do what you’ll do_

The first thing Albus though as everyone started to cheer was how long it must have taken for the Hat to come up with that song. He himself was absolutely useless with rhyming, he’d have probably spent an entire century pondering over which line to go where.

“Now, after your name is called, put on the Hat and sit on the stool to be Sorted.” Howes said, and he grimaced at an extensive roll of parchment. “Alders, Jacqueline!” Jackie wobbled nervously to the stool, gingerly took up the hat and placed it on her head. There was a silence for about twenty seconds and then…

“RAVENCLAW!” shouted the Hat. The blue and bronze table clapped eagerly as she ran over and sat down.

“Anton, Maxwell!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!” This time it was the yellow and black students who clapped, and a couple of them whistled.

Albus’ head pounded as Howes called name after name after name, anticipating his turn.

“Davis, Ashleigh!”

“SLYTHERIN!”

If he ended up in Slytherin. James would laugh for three days, no, three weeks, no, three _months._ He would never, ever, ever live it down.

“Finch-Fletchley, Missy!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

He could ask the hat though, couldn’t he? That was what his dad said. If that thing decided to put him in Slytherin he could just say “Actually, no thank you!” and then hop off to Gryffindor and everything would be completely fine. Or maybe not.

“Oh my lord.” muttered Rose, and she looked petrified as Nicole Garrett went off to Ravenclaw. “Oh my God, I’m going to die.”

...

“Granger-Weasley, Rose!” The Hall burst into murmurs, and Rose could feel more eyes on her than there had been on other students. Two of the most famous names in the Wizarding World had been spoken and people were probably thinking that she was too gangly or too thin or too stiff to represent those names. _Calm down, Rose. You’ll go straight to Gryffindor and it’ll all be alright._ Trying not to keel over, she walked over to the stool, took up the hat, and settled it on her bushy red hair.

“Oh, _another_ Weasley?” complained a small voice in her ear. Rose furrowed her eyebrows. _Granger-Weasley actually,_ she corrected. “I see, I see.” it said, sounding a little amused. “Where to put you? Brave, oh yes, certainly, and an excellent mind, yes indeed.” She felt a small spurt of pride. “Ambition too, quite a lot of that, and kindness, and talent, oh, this won’t be easy. Hmm.” _Gryffindor. I’m a Gryffindor._ “Gryffindor? Yes, I suppose that would be a good fit for you, and of course you come from a long line of them, yet I’m not sure, not sure.” Rose cocked her head in displeasure and then the hat fell straight over her eyes. “There’s courage but not much daring, ambition but hardly any cunning, tolerance but too much impatience. But I see a hunger for _knowledge,_ one that will carry you far. Perhaps you would fare well in Gryffindor, but you belong in RAVENCLAW!”

Rose slowly took off the hat, not sure whether she was happy or not. It stung to hear that she apparently wasn’t daring enough for Gryffindor, she had to admit that, but Ravenclaw was a great house, a wonderful house. Her mother had almost been Sorted into Ravenclaw—it had been Rose’s second option. _This is good,_ she decided, walking over to her table. _This is good._

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she barely clocked how much that same blue and bronze table were cheering, one of the loudest cheers she had heard, and as soon as she arrived, all the prefects eagerly shook her hand and a startling amount of students clapped her on the shoulder. She vaguely heard Howes call another few names.

“Jordan, Cassandra!”

“GRYFFINDOR!” _So she deserves Gryffindor and I don’t,_ Rose thought suddenly, as Cassandra tottered off to the red and gold area, and she was instantly ashamed of herself. That wasn’t at all fair; Cassandra would have never been as unkind to Rose. She was so sweet and friendly, of course she deserved Gryffindor.

“Kitch, Emilia!”

“SLYTHERIN!” They were halfway through now, give or take a bit. Scorpius was very close. _Get Ravenclaw,_ she hoped, and though she knew it was unlikely, something in her believed it.

“Macmillan, Kaye!”

“RAVENCLAW!” screamed the hat, and Rose clapped along with everyone else. She made room for Kaye to sit next to her and they shook hands, and then she snapped to attention when she heard the next name.

...

“Malfoy, Scorpius!” called Howes. Scorpius tried to shove down his queasiness as Albus patted him on the back, and then stepped out of line to get to the stool. He was sure everyone was looking at him, judging, already calling him a Death Eater and trying to gauge whether or not he looked like Voldemort. _I’m going to be sick._ He sat down and put the hat on, and his face was thin enough that the hat fell over his nose. The last thing he heard before it spoke was the snickers coming from the students.

“Oh, a Malfoy.” said a voice. “That’s easy, better be…” The hat opened its mouth then closed it. “No. Not really. You’re not a Slytherin, are you? There’s bravery in you, I see it, but not Gryffindor either, no. You’re certainly not unskilled. A gentle heart, yes, but there’s wisdom, and there’s a mind. You want to learn, don’t you?” Almost imperceptibly, Scorpius nodded. “Yes, you’ll be great in RAVENCLAW!”

The silence after was longer than anyone else’s had been. Scorpius took off the hat and stared at the crowd of people. They were shocked. He was shocked. But no one was clapping. Maybe Slytherin would have clapped for him but he wasn’t Slytherin. For one wild, desperate moment, he thought about running back to the stool and begging the hat for Slytherin, but then people started to clap. Rose started to hoot, Scorpius saw her watching him with a giant beam on her face. The cheering increased as he stumbled off to Ravenclaw until you could call it slightly less than enthusiastic, and he let out a sigh of relief he hadn’t realised he was holding.

He finally sat down next to Rose as Howes called the next name, and she didn’t say a thing, just slung an arm around his shoulders.

“Thanks.” he said, hoping that every thank you in the world could be summed up into that one word. “Really.”

“It’s no problem.” They grinned at each other once more.

“Moore, Imogen!” The girl with the glasses that Albus hated made her way up the line, her fists clenched. Scorpius looked at his friend, and he was scowling unpleasantly. Imogen shoved the hat down on her head with enough harshness to make Howes balk, and it dropped just over her fringe so that her huge eyes were visible.

“GRYFFINDOR!” shouted the hat, hardly a few seconds after she had put it on. She stood up, looking pleased, and marched off to the table of red and gold. Albus was quite close now. There was a Nott… a Perks…

...

“Potter, Albus!” The hall just about went mad with whispers. Everyone was talking so much that Albus couldn’t hear his heart throbbing anymore, and he was a little grateful for it. He walked up, trying not to be as shaky as he felt, and took up the hat. He sat down. He moved so that he was comfortable on the stool. He put the hat down on his head, and it fell right over his eyes.

“So—” started the hat, but it was cut off by Albus thinking _Anything but Slytherin, anything else, just not Slytherin, not Slytherin._ “No? Like your father I see. Well, it could be a fit, but not completely, no. You’re very stubborn, aren’t you, maybe Hufflepuff, but there isn’t quite enough patience there. You could stand to work harder too, I suppose, though you seem to when it counts… Courageous as well, and definitely daring, but your head is cool in times of danger. Hmm. Rather difficult. There’s quite a good brain there. Unusually perceptive, actually, and calculating. Very calculating. You could do well in Slytherin or Ravenclaw, so the question is, do you use that mind for greatness or for knowledge?” The hat stopped. _What?_ Albus screwed up his face in confusion, trying to understand. “You can’t stand not knowing, can you?” said the hat. It almost sounded like it was chuckling. “Ah, better be RAVENCLAW!”

Boom. Quick as a flash, the Ravenclaws were screaming, hooraying, practically bellowing. Some of them looked smug. Albus couldn’t help but laugh as he took off the hat and put it back on the stool, his legs still a little unstable. Rose and Scorpius looked elated. All of his hopes for Gryffindor were forgotten, his relief about not being in Slytherin pushed aside. In fact, for just a moment, he wondered if it would have really been that bad to end up in the house of green and silver. But it didn’t matter now. As Albus walked over to Ravenclaw table, he was happy. Just like the Sorting Hat was supposed to, it had sorted everything out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm just a bit terrible at titles.
> 
> This chapter is wayyy longer than I thought it would be, and I've hardly edited it, so I hope it's not as clunky as it was when I first looked over. I also hope the Sorting Hat song I wrote isn't too painful to read!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read and left kudos, I really appreciate it!


	3. The Many Dangers of Flying

“Pass the scrambled eggs, please.” Rose said, eyeing the bowl in front of her hungrily as she spooned baked beans into her plate. Scorpius stared at her in astonishment.

“You’re not full? Are neither of you full?” He waved a hand at Albus, who was busy stuffing his mouth full of bacon. “I swear that’s your third plate already, and I won’t even try and guess how much _he’s_ had.”

“Ow cooh yuh blamee?” Albus protested, and when Rose gave him a withering look he paused to swallow. “I said, how could you blame me? I’ve never seen this much bacon in front of me!”

“Has anyone ever seen this much bacon in front of them?” remarked Rose, surveying the breakfast table in all its glory. There was toast and black pudding, hash browns and sausages, mushrooms, every kind of egg, muffins, _pancakes_ even _,_ and of course, bacon. She was actually proud of herself for having only had three helpings, it was at least less than the extravagant feast she had eaten on the first day. “I mean, not that I’m complaining.”

“Well, bacon isn’t even that—” Dougie Perks started doubtfully, but stopped when he saw Albus’ stricken face. “Er, never mind.”

“Yeah, don’t get on Potter’s bad side.” warned Joseph Upton with a knowing smirk. “He’s the only one getting us anywhere in this giant castle.”

He was, to be fair. Hogwarts was extravagant, complex, and not a little confusing. Albus was the only one out of the eleven Ravenclaws who had a knack for knowing where to go and avoiding all the traps, and they would have been utterly lost without him. It made things easier for sure, but Rose wasn’t close to calling it easy, because lefts became rights and rights became left in the blink of an eye and there wasn’t an opening without some bewitchment to make getting through ten times harder. Some of the windows weren’t proper windows but just exquisitely painted mirrors and the pillars were always hopping about and the portraits were on the mischievous side when it came to helping. Rose had asked Hecate very nicely where to find first year Charms two days ago and was led into a passage elaborate enough to get a seventh year lost.

“I could find my way without Potter.” said golden-haired Kaye defensively, brushing the glossy waves out of her eyes.

“Hmm.” Fiona, better known to the other girls as _Bulstrode who talks to Slytherins more than us,_ made a haughty little disbelieving noise that Rose was inclined to agree with because Kaye didn’t know how to get _anywhere_. Kaye glared at her, but Fiona was reading an impressively thick book and didn’t notice.

“I could!”

“Kaye, you can hardly get around the common room, let alone the school.” laughed Henry Entwhistle. She elbowed him sharply, which only made him more cheerful. “What do we have first anyway, Aubrey?”

“Um, our first Flying Lesson with the Gryffindors.” Margot chirped as she pulled out her ever-present schedule. Albus froze, and then let out a strangled cry.

“You’re joking.” he choked in horror. Margot, nonplussed, shook her head.

“You don’t sound too excited.” noted Dougie through a mouthful of toast, watching the other boy drop his head to bang on the table. “What’s wrong with Flying?”

“He can’t fly.” Rose explained. “Scorpius, the eggs?” She suppressed a smile as she thought of every time her cousin had made a feeble attempt at playing Quidditch and ended up face-first in the grass with his broom (his very unused broom) halfway across the garden.

“He can’t fly?” Nicole Garrett scrunched up her face in confusion. “I’m afraid of heights and all, so I can’t either. But he’s a _Potter.”_

“Well, he also hasn’t saved Britain seven times, has he?” said Rose primly. “The eggs?”

“Right, right, can’t forget about eating, can we?” With a wry look, Scorpius grabbed the bowl and passed it to Jackie, who passed it to Samuel Rivers, who passed it to Rose.

“Also,” she continued while she gave herself a generous helping, and now she did let herself smile. “I reckon he’s a bit scared of embarrassing himself in front of—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” Albus threatened, though his voice was muffled by the table. “We both know I’ll hit you.” Kaye and Nicole looked scandalised, but Jackie was unperturbed.

“You sound like Immy.” she observed. Rose’s grin grew devilish.

“Just the girl I was talking about.”

“What, the Gryffindor who’s in our common room more than hers?” Joseph asked, and the girls nodded. Jackie had just about inducted her friend into Ravenclaw in about two days, and Rose didn’t mind that half as much as she might have thought. Imogen really hadn’t been friendly on the train, but after a few more interactions her dry humour and spirited nature made Rose fond of her. Meanwhile, Albus still found excuses to run for the hills if he even caught a glimpse of large glasses and a fringe. “Who Potter’s afraid of?”

“I am _not_ afraid of Moore.” snapped Albus. “I don’t like her much, is all.” He gave Jackie an apologetic glance, and she just shrugged back.

“You’re not upset?” Kaye questioned, raising her eyebrows.

“I mean, lot of people don’t like Immy. It’s really fine as long as you don’t set her off, or let her set _you_ off.”

“Er, got it.” Albus said gruffly, before he remembered that he was upset. “Has anyone got Quidditch Through the Ages for me to borrow?”

No sooner had he spoken than the bell rang, and with hefty sighs they all rose to join the steady trail of students leaving the hall.

The Ravenclaws stumbled through the corridors as Albus led the way, every so often stopping and going very quiet when they heard Peeves’ taunting or the screaming of Olive Luther, the fantastically hot-tempered caretaker. Portraits eyed them cheekily as they went by, offering suspicious-sounding suggestions, and Kaye nearly fell through a Vanishing step on one of the stairs. If there was one thing Rose could say about Hogwarts, (excluding History of Magic) it was that you were never bored.

“We’re here!” Henry announced at last as they filed into the courtyard. Stony-faced Madam Murray lined them up by their brooms while they waited for the Gryffindors, Rose consoling her cousin as he stared at his broom with increasingly widened eyes.

“It’ll be fine, Al.” she insisted, patting him on the shoulder. “Right, Scorpius?” But Scorpius was as pale as he got when people glared at him in the halls.

“What if the Gryffindors push me off my broom?” he wondered, sounding half in the clouds, and Rose remembered that he could be just as dramatic as Albus when he wanted. “And then I die.”

“You’re not going to die. Neither of you are going to die.” Rose snapped as the Gryffindors strutted (they always strutted) into the lesson. “They’re not evil, you know.” But both of the boys gave her disbelieving looks and edged a little behind her.

“We’ll be learning how to hover this lesson.” began their teacher. “I’m going to start by showing you how to get your broom in use. Hold your dominant hand over your broom and then…” She took a broom from in front of bored-looking Aimee Leighton and set it in front of her.

“Up!” she shouted, and the broom was in her hands so quickly that Rose blinked and she had it. “Speak confidently, everyone!”

The class burst into choruses of ‘up’ as soon as she finished, some more hesitantly than others, and Rose noted with some dissatisfaction that the Ravenclaws weren’t doing quite as well as the Gryffindors. Well, Gryffindors were supposed to be the brave ones, but that was fine. She’d just have to represent her house herself.

“Up!” she said firmly, pleased when the broom shot into her grip almost as quick as her Percus 500 back at home.

“Up!” said Scorpius, and even through his fretting his broom flew up. Albus watched them both jealously and begged his to rise over and over while it rolled around on the floor.

“Up!” he shrieked for the umpteenth time, and then came a great thwack that sent him tumbling to the grass. Scorpius jumped and peered over him in concern, but Henry and Joseph sniggered at him. “Oh, piss _off.”_ he snarled as he dizzily hoisted himself up with Scorpius’ hand and rubbed his now red forehead.

“Now,” Madam Murray continued, clearly not caring about the distinct lack of people with their brooms being held. “After you’ve summoned your broom, you’ll mount them. Hold them like this and then hop over them with your right foot over first, keeping it away from the ground. Don’t push off till I say.”

“Oh, no way.” Nicole turned her nose up at her Cleansweep 11, and Albus nodded in agreement. “I refuse to get close to that thing.”

“It’s won’t bite.” chuckled Hikari Dewa, a Gryffindor who had more patience than any of the Hufflepuffs combined. She gently settled herself atop of hers. “It’s not too hard, see?”

“Actually, it’s very hard, and I agree with Garrett.” put in Albus, and gave his broom a dirty look.

“It isn’t at all.” said Imogen. Albus whipped around with an annoyed expression to see her dangling her legs off her already hovering broom, completely disregarding Madam Murray’s instructions. “You just have to relax and then it’s really easy.” Rose knew she didn’t mean it, but her tone came out lofty, which didn’t help Albus’ frustration.

“No, Moore, it isn’t, and you don’t have to show off. Not all of us have been raised as Quidditch players from birth, all right?” he snarled. She looked unfazed by his irritation, and Rose couldn’t help when the smirk she’d been wearing when she had teased him creeped back onto her face.

“I haven’t been raised on a broom. I’m Muggle-raised, or whatever you call it. You don’t have to get so worked up anyway.” _Ouch._ A couple of the Gryffindor girls giggled as Albus’ face turned red.

“You—”

“So then how do you and Jackie know each other?” Rose cut in before a fight could begin, and wished once again that her cousin’s cool logic could extend to personal insults.

“Lived in the same neighbourhood, what are the odds?” Jackie said, affection clear in her voice. “She always got into fights and I talked about magic too much for anyone, and then I found out she was a witch. We’ve been best mates ever since. I stopped going mental about magic cause of her, but she still hasn’t toned it down with the fights.”

“I have a little.” Imogen retorted, albeit rather unconvincingly. “Jesus, this is wicked! I proper want to play Quich, it’s probably loads better than football.”

“Quidditch.” Rose corrected, but with a smile. “It’s really fun, and—”

“You there, girl!” Madam Murray exclaimed. “Down now.” Imogen allowed herself to drift to the ground with almost no effort, and unsurprisingly, Albus’ jaw clenched more. Jackie shrugged her shoulders at him with a grimace.

“Now, on my whistle, push yourself off the ground carefully and hover in the air for a few seconds, then—” She hadn’t even managed to finish the explanation when someone began to rise, and rise, and rise, hardly slower than Uncle Harry when he got going. Rose looked up to see Fiona, who’s haughty expression was now one of unrestrained fear. “Not yet, I said! Come down this instant!”

Fiona didn’t look any happier about the occurrence than the teacher, and clung to her broom for dear life. “How do I get down, how do I get _down?!”_ she shrieked, starting to hyperventilate. The entire class burst into panicked cries. “Help! Help!”

“Loosen your grip, and slowly push down!” their teacher called, somehow nervous and collected at the same time. “Loosen your grip!” But Fiona’s grip was so tight that the broom shook, wrenching her to the side. Then with frightening quickness it speeded sideways and crashed her into a wall. Several people screamed, and Rose surely thought that she’d fall away and crack her head open, but she managed to hold on, and finally it brought her to the ground. When it wriggled away from Fiona and zoomed off, she crumpled to the floor, and Madam Murray rushed to her side. Her dark eyes held unshed tears and her shoulder was bent at an unnatural angle.

“And that’s exactly why I won’t be getting on a broom any time soon.” Nicole said darkly, and this time Hikari didn’t chuckle. “That looks serious, she’ll have to go to the Hospital Wing.” They all murmured solemn agreements, and even Kaye, who wasn’t exactly Fiona’s biggest fan, was mildly sympathetic.

“None of you move while I take her to the nurse.” Madam Murray told them sharply as she helped Fiona up and put an arm around her. “Off we go now.”

Everyone was silent while they hobbled off, but as soon as they disappeared from sight they all began to talk.

“And that’s karma, telling you not to hang out with Slytherins.” snorted Martin Chambers, a sturdily-built, dark-skinned boy with hair to rival Rose’s. When Rose peeked to the side she saw Scorpius shrinking into himself like he always did when someone got started on all of this shit, his cheeks now so colourless that if he dyed his hair black he could have passed for Snow White. He was so different-looking when anxious that it was a little scary, with his hair hiding his eyes and his frame a good few inches smaller.

“Isn’t it.” agreed Otis Vance. “Why would anyone _choose_ to be friends with them? And—”

“That’s not fair.” Rose snapped. Her friend was muttering something that sounded distinctly like _“Rose, it’s fine.”_ But it wasn’t. “There’s nothing wrong with Slytherin.”

“Really, Weasley?” Chambers asked incredulously. “I wouldn’t expect you to be the one defending that house when your parents spent all that time fighting them.”

“They only fought the bad ones.” she replied. For a moment he just looked at her, before letting out a brittle laugh.

“You mean, the Death Eaters.” He cocked his head to one side. “You _are_ standing next to a Malfoy right now, if you’ve forgotten, who’s parents were literally Death Eaters.” He glared at the Malfoy present, and soon all eyes were on Scorpius.

“Dad _was,_ and Mum wasn’t.” he defended, which just made Chambers roll his eyes.

“So? Actually, I’ve heard about your dad, and by that I mean your—”

“Your parents obviously didn’t teach you that we’re not the exact same as them, did they?” Albus interrupted, narrowing his eyes. “Do us all a favour and shut up.” A few people hummed their agreement, but others looked sceptical. Slytherin was still the most distrusted house, and the Malfoys still a distrusted family.

“Muggle-borns don’t get sorted into Slytherin because Slytherin hated them, wanted them dead, and set a basilisk on them, and me not wanting to talk to people like that makes me an idiot?” Those were fair points, and everyone knew it. Chambers paused to see if anyone would argue, and then carried on. “I’m just saying that they’re not a good sort to talk to.”

“Did I stutter when I—” Albus began hotly.

“Slytherins are evil and bigoted and that includes people who willingly talk to them!”

“But Chambers,” came Imogen’s plain voice as she stepped up to him. “You’re kind of proving that there are pricks in every house.” Chambers whipped round in surprise. If they had been in a movie, this would have definitely been an “ooh” moment, because several people were stifling snickers, no matter who’s side they were on. Even Albus looked like he wanted to smile.

“Okay, fair enough, Immy.” said Missy Finch-Fletchley, though her lips twitched. “But you don’t really _know_ what Slytherin’s like.”

“Kara Fawcett lent me a quill in Transformations when I broke mine.” Imogen replied. Chambers spluttered, half in disbelief at her frankness and half in indignation.

““You are a _Muggle-born!”_ he shouted. “If you grew up with all our parents you would have been in danger because of that basilisk! Slytherins hate you!”

“So why did Fawcett lend me a quill?” In a hilarious way, she was impossible to beat. He glared at her for a long, long time while everyone else just sort of stood around awkwardly, not really knowing how he was supposed to respond. Rose sidled closer to Scorpius and nudged her elbow into his as they did.

“Whatever.” Chambers said finally. “It’s your funeral.” And without another word on the subject, he turned to Vance and Evan Henderson and started speaking to them again. Both boys looked a little bemused but talked back, and the silence the rest of them were trapped in was quickly dispelled once the always loud Kaye opened her mouth.

“You all right, Scorp?” Albus asked as they all returned to their brooms, purposefully giving his one a kick as they did. Scorpius looked grim, but nodded.

“Yeah.” He paused, then smiled. “Don’t call me Scorp.” He wasn’t really all right, all three of them knew that, but Imogen’s flying, Nicole’s sass, and Joseph’s jokes were enough of a distraction that when Madam Murray returned, he had a lot more colour to him. The rest of Flying was fortunately short and uneventful, although Albus and Chambers kept shooting each other daggers with their eyes, and Fiona returned halfway through Charms determined to pretend like nothing had happened. By lunch Scorpius was back to making jokes about how much his Rose and Albus ate. Rose thought, as she and Margot trekked off to their room at the end of the day, that if she wasn’t completely content, she was satisfied.

Satisfaction didn’t tend to last very long for a Weasley, however.

When Rose entered the Ravenclaw dorm, it was then that she realised how exhausted she was from the past two weeks. Her teachers all expected perfect Hermione Granger behaviour and brilliance, people always asked questions about her family, one of the closest friends she’d made was disliked almost everywhere outside of their house, _and_ she had a large pile of homework that she hadn’t been bothered to do, well done her. She collapsed rather than sat on her bed, while her other roommates changed out of their clothes and into their pyjamas with hardly any tiredness.

Except for Fiona, who was busy scribbling out the fourth or fifth inch of a six inch History essay for bloody Binns, as Rose had gotten fond of calling him. She looked as weary as Rose felt, and every so often moved the shoulder that had been dislocated. She wrote delicately, not anything like Albus’ illegible handwriting, and Rose watching her concentratedly copy the work out from her books until:

“Hi?” Fiona was looking right at her. Rose startled.

“Oh, sorry, I was just…” She trailed off when she saw the hostile look on the other girl’s face. “Uh, sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Fiona brushed her essay onto her bed carelessly, a dangerous glint in her eyes. The rest of the girls were turning towards them, Jackie entirely unsurprised, Margot agitated, Nicole apprehensive, and Kaye wide-eyed. “Go on, sorry for _what?”_

“I…” _Sorry that you’re looking at me like I tried to kill you?_ “Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes.” she said frostily. “And you don’t have to pretend you care, or pity me. I know what Chambers said, and I don’t give a fuck.”

She was as hard to fight as Imogen, only that instead of being honest and stubborn she was sharp and aggressive. “I do care. And none of us agree, you know—”

“You defend me one time and you’re Helga fucking Hufflepuff? I don’t think so.” Fiona scoffed. “Just because your charity case is a Malfoy and no one’s made a big fuss here doesn’t make you a saint. You wouldn’t even talk to him if he ended up there, where I belong. I belong in Slytherin, I’ll admit it full on, and I don’t know why that Hat didn’t put me there. Generations of family in that house and I didn’t end up there.” By the end of it she was talking more to herself than them, with a sardonic, bitter expression on her face.

“Bulstrode—” began Nicole, who got along best with Fiona.

“Oh for Merlin’s sake, I literally just said I don’t want pity!” She clenched her fists and took a deep breath, before turning her gaze back to her parchment. “You know what, I’m going to bed.” She drew her curtains across harshly and they could all hear the sound of her climbing into bed and then going still, her breathing still uneven.

Rose stared at the blue curtains for a while, and then abruptly pivoted, her robes making a swishing noise as she did. “What?” she snapped.

“I think we should all just try and get some rest.” Nicole said resignedly, and she too went back to her bed and pulled the curtains. Kaye followed soon after, with her arms crossed tightly and her lips pursed for a reason Rose didn’t care to decipher, and then Jackie made the same understanding grimace she’d made that morning as she went off. Margot, bless her, mouthed _“Chocolate?”_ and when Rose shook her head gratefully, she gave her a soft smile and hopped into her bed, gently tugging her curtains closed.

But now came the worst part. Now came the tossing and turning and thinking over what Fiona said till she woke up in the morning even more sleep-deprived. _You’re Helga fucking Hufflepuff? I don’t think so. You wouldn’t even talk to him. You’re not a saint. Don’t pretend you care._ She did care! Didn’t she? She’d thought she had, but maybe she was just being condescending, _pitying._ The word “pity” dropped off Fiona’s tongue like it was a particularly disgusting swear. Rose never imagined that someone could look at her so… so venomously. There was absolutely no chance of her getting any sleep.

She should have begged the hat for Gryffindor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! It took me about a month to update, sorry about that. I was going for twice a week, but perhaps that was a little ambitious because schoolwork is murder.
> 
> I swear my chapters are just gonna keep getting longer and longer, and I think characterisation might have been slightly off because it's been so LONG. I also wrote four versions of this chapter, and this isn't even the longest one.
> 
> Thank you for the kudos, the comments, and over 100 hits! I guess that outs me as an amateur, but I'm still very very grateful. Hope you enjoy!


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